As the founder and leader of Marshall High School's Gay-Straight Alliance, I'd like to take the opportunity to clear up some misconceptions the community and my peers might have about this student organization.

We appreciate our administration's support of our message of tolerance, but there are still a few issues that deserve clarification.

First, the Marshall High School GSA is an official club with a faculty adviser. We meet every month to foster a safe and open environment within the school for our LGBTQ peers. We focus on current events, social justice, anti-bullying initiatives, and youth activism.

Second, students don't have to be a member of the LGBTQ community to participate in our group, but they do need to embrace all members of the human family regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity. Simply put, we are about as inclusive as it gets.

The controversy surrounding our club stems from a display board that the GSA decorated on March 16th — with our advisor's support and our administration's permission — in anticipation of the International Transgender Day of Transparency.

We were promised this space through March 31, the official date of the observance. On Friday the 27th, a handful of parents took to social media to question the message we were sending and its appropriateness in a school setting. That same afternoon, after at least one parent contacted MHS administration, a MHS staff member took down the display without contacting either our club adviser or me.

Given the circumstances surrounding this decision, we believe that our display was removed not as a result of it reaching a recently enforced two-week limit for display board privileges, but because a few parents on Facebook objected to the message it was sending.

We recognize and appreciate that MPS Administration supports our club and that they did not mean to demean our message, but we are disappointed in the way this issue was handled. Which leads to why we believe that now, in a climate where states like Arkansas and Indiana have taken steps to allow discrimination through legislation, our advocacy for tolerance and equality is more important than ever.

Despite all that has happened over the bulletin board controversy, we are encouraged by the fact that people are thinking about and discussing issues that focus on compassion, acceptance and social justice.

More importantly, we are proud of the way our fellow MHS peers have rallied around this issue. We would like to thank all of the community organizations and individuals who have reached out to express solidarity with us.

Regardless of personal religious or political beliefs, I think we can all agree that schools should be a safe environment for all students.